I have worked for some time in Australia and Canada in the area of boys and Art Education. Boys education is a field of educational research that is growing rapidly, but art education is largely unrepresented. In Australia alone, our federal government has spent over $30 million on programs aimed at boys education in the past 4 years, an unprecedented commitment. Other countries, particularly in Europe, are equally committed to improving the educational outcomes of boys. I feel it is important that we advocate the value of our subject to this debate.
From a presentation at InSEA Viseu on this topic, I received contacts from a number of other academics in Ireland, USA and Canada also interested in this field. I feel there exists the possibility of developing an art education voice in this important field - an InSEA event would seem the ideal venue to spark this off.